Graduation Celebration General Info

Graduation Celebration at Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, started in 1997. About half the graduating class attended that first event; after a steady climb, participation has averaged about 75 percent of each class for the last several years. A remarkable 82% of the Class of 2006 joined in the fun.

A drug- and alcohol-free party for Oak Ridge High School seniors on graduation night, it is sponsored by the city’s Youth Advisory Board and the Graduation Celebration Community Foundation, a group of parents, alumni parents, and business and community supporters.

The Youth Advisory Board acts as a liaison between city youth and city council. YAB members, elected by their peers in middle and high school, are assisted by the community committee, in pulling together the all-night party.

The party is offered at NO COST to graduating seniors and provides food, games, music, a wide variety of activities, and a memorable night for the new graduates. Drawings for "big ticket" items, scholarships and a used car cap the event.

Graduation Celebration gives the students a blow-out event to look forward to and parents and the community an opportunity to provide a safe place and some security on what can be a dangerous night.

Hundreds of young people are killed in drug- and alcohol-related accidents every year. Some are the innocent victims of drunk drivers, some are kids who might not be involved with drugs and alcohol if there were other things to do. Graduation Celebration provides an alternative to the parties that put our kids in harm’s way. Making sure it’s something the kids want to do is a gift their parents and other adults in the community can give.

Keeping it free for all participants and offering plenty of incentive to attend means we bring in – and protect – the largest number of kids possible.

Donors who make contributions of $250 or more in cash or merchandise are acknowledged on the official Graduation Celebration t-shirts, distributed to those who attend the party and the "t-shirt-level" donors.

The doors to the Oak Ridge Civic Center open from 10 to 11 p.m. the night of the party and reopen at 6 a.m. the next morning. Only students with written permission from their parents or guardians can leave before that time, and then only after the adults are notified by phone that their children are leaving the event.

Group games, “inflatable” games, bingo, casino games, karioke, and other activities are planned, and food will be served throughout the night.

Several scholarships and big-ticket items will be given away in a drawing at the very end of the event, along with a used car. By then, most of the kids are awake again (and it sort of gives new meaning to the phrase, ‘You must be present to win.').

For more information on donating or getting involved with Graduation Celebration, call Matt Reedy, the city recreation specialist who works with YAB, at 425-3442 (email: mreedy@cortn.org ) or Karen Bridgeman at 463-0043 (email: GradCel@comcast.net)

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